Competition Ruleset — CJI (Craig Jones Invitational)

What CJI Is

The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) is an invitation-only no-gi submission grappling event founded by Craig Jones and first held in 2024. It runs as a submission-only format — there are no points, no advantages, and no judges’ decision based on positional dominance during regulation. A match either ends in submission within the regulation period, or it goes to an overtime mechanism designed to force a result.

The event was established as an alternative to ADCC, deliberately offering larger purses and a submission-only ruleset that makes positional stalling unrewarding. The first edition ran in August 2024 in Las Vegas, scheduled in direct competition with the ADCC World Championships of the same year. Subsequent editions have continued the same format with refinements to the overtime mechanic.

The Ruleset

Regulation is a fixed-length submission-only round. There are no positional points and no advantages. If neither competitor submits within regulation, the match goes to overtime. The CJI overtime format uses positional starts — both competitors have a chance to attack from a defined starting position, and the result is decided by submission, escape, or a tiebreaker based on escape time and submission attempts. Specific overtime starting positions and tiebreaker mechanics have been published by the event for each edition; competitors should confirm the exact rules of the edition they are entering rather than assuming continuity from a prior year.

Submissions are unrestricted within the standard safety frame. Heel hooks are legal. Reaping is legal. Twisters and cervical-spine submissions are typically restricted, but the specific list varies by edition and weight bracket. The format does not impose IBJJF-style submission division restrictions; the ruleset is intended to remove technical restrictions that reduce the submission rate.

What CJI Rewards

CJI rewards sustained submission threat and the willingness to engage in attacking exchanges that take time to resolve. Without points, the only way to win in regulation is to submit. A competitor who advances to a dominant position and then maintains it without active attack gains nothing — the clock simply runs and the match enters overtime.

Leg entanglement systems are particularly favoured because heel hooks are legal and the format has no penalty for the time required to enter, secure, and finish the position. Competitors who train heel-hook-centric games — Craig Jones’ own background, and the wider ADCC-style leg-attack lineage — find the format aligns with their preparation. Guard systems that produce submission threats rather than positional sweeps are similarly favoured; a sweep is worth nothing in CJI.

The format also rewards conditioning and pace. Submission-only matches, especially in the absence of positional resets, can extend toward and into overtime. A competitor who fades in the second half of regulation gives their opponent free submission opportunities. Conditioning is not optional.

What CJI Discourages

CJI discourages stalling, position-only games, and disengagement-and-reset patterns. A competitor who passes guard and then maintains side control without attacking is, in CJI terms, simply running the clock to a result they do not control. The same is true of a guard player who recovers and resets repeatedly without producing attacking pressure. The format selects against these patterns by giving them no scoring credit.

The format also discourages the wrestling-heavy “score early and ride” pattern that ADCC’s first half can incentivise. There is no benefit to a takedown that does not lead to an attacking sequence. Competitors who treat the takedown as the goal of the standing exchange must reconsider the standing exchange as the entry to a submission sequence rather than as a points-scoring opportunity in itself.

How CJI Differs From ADCC

ADCC uses a points system in the second half of regulation, with takedowns (2), guard passes (3), back control (4), and sweeps (2) all scoring. The first half is points-free, but the points-bearing second half rewards positional dominance even without submission. CJI does not. Where ADCC selects for the complete competitor — wrestling, passing, back attacks, and submissions — CJI selects narrowly for submission threat.

The strategic implication is significant. An ADCC competitor who is a strong wrestler and passer can win by accumulating points without ever producing a submission threat. A CJI competitor cannot. The same athlete may need to prepare differently for the two events even within the same competition season, with CJI preparation emphasising sustained submission engagement and ADCC preparation emphasising scoring across multiple categories.

How CJI Differs From EBI

CJI and EBI share the submission-only philosophy. Both formats remove positional points entirely. The differences are in the overtime structure and in event scale. EBI’s overtime uses two specific starting positions — back control and the spider-web (extended armbar) position — that have shaped a generation of training around defending and finishing from those exact starts. CJI’s overtime mechanism varies between editions and is generally designed to be less prescriptive than EBI’s, allowing the regulation skill set to remain primary rather than rewarding athletes who have specifically drilled escapes from a fixed OT start.

The result is that EBI training tends to produce specialists in a narrow set of positions, while CJI training tends to reinforce the general submission-grappling skill set. Neither is better as a training environment in absolute terms — they reward different preparations. Competitors entering CJI should not assume EBI-style OT preparation will be load-bearing for the result.

Notable CJI Events

The first CJI event, held in August 2024 in Las Vegas, ran a 16-competitor bracket at +80 kg with a $1 million top prize and additional eight-figure prize-pool elements, paired with concurrent women’s and lower-weight matches. The event drew a substantial portion of the active no-gi competitor pool, including several athletes who had previously been ADCC fixtures. The lineage of the event is documented through the active CJI broadcast and post-event analysis available at the time of writing; competitors evaluating the event for entry should consult the most recent edition’s published bracket and ruleset rather than relying on general descriptions.

Subsequent editions have continued the same submission-only philosophy with format adjustments. The event has not standardised across editions in the way ADCC has across its biennial cycle — competitors should expect format details to vary year-to-year and confirm the specifics for each entry.

Strategic Implications for Training

A competitor preparing for CJI should structure training around: (1) sustained guard-bottom submission engagement, including leg entanglement entries and heel hook finishes from cross-ashi (saddle), outside ashi, and K-guard positions; (2) submission-from-top patterns that do not require positional reset, including arm-triangle sequences, head-and-arm chokes, and kimura system attacks from side control and half guard; (3) conditioning sufficient to maintain attacking pace through full regulation and into overtime; (4) defensive submission grappling sufficient to escape attacks during the long engagement windows the format produces. The standing game is preparation for the entry to submission, not for a takedown score in itself.

The relevant Craig Jones profile documents the technical lineage the event reflects — leg-entanglement-centric, submission-first, with a deliberate de-emphasis on positional points as the metric of competitive success.